


Still dating the same Mark

by wonsuan



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: 97 Line as graduates, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - High School, And 98 Line (aka Zeus), Dating, Developing Relationship, First Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Misunderstandings, NCT 99 Line, Stereotypes, Unconventional Relationship, minimally so I put them in additional Tags, nct 00 line, nomin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25673713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonsuan/pseuds/wonsuan
Summary: Smart, athletic and kind – Mark was the perfect alpha and Donghyuck’s ultimate crush. Only, Donghyuck was an alpha too and he wasn’t so sure his family would so readily accept such an unconventional pairing - not to mention the object of his affection, his unsuspecting crush. His friends, however, have had enough of Donghyuck’s endless crushing and pushed him to finally confess to Mark. Astonishingly enough, Mark actually accepted Donghyuck’s confession and they started dating. But, (how) would a relationship between two alphas work out?
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 11
Kudos: 117





	Still dating the same Mark

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been thinking about this idea for months now and writing and discarding and re-writing it with no end. It just started with the idea of wanting Mark to be an omega and Donghyuck an alpha for a change, then the idea of mistaken gender came up, other ridiculous ideas surfaced and somehow I ended up with this.  
> So, this is the product of four months’ worth of sleepless nights and about six discarded drafts. I feel like the story didn’t follow the direction I had planned for at the beginning but, seriously, my stories never do. They just start somehow, make a small world tour and then barely manage to arrive at the destination.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story^^

Donghyuck walked down the hallway right toward the door with the sign reading "Class 2-1". Some students were still mingling around, some even spared their group of first-years a short glance – after all, first-years were an unusual sight on the second-year corridor. At least they were a group of two alphas, two betas and an omega so nobody would gang up on them. Besides, Renjun was probably the most intimidating omega alive. Right in front of the door he paused and carefully peeked into the classroom.

His heartbeat accelerated when he caught sight of Mark's back in their ugly green school uniform. He was still talking to his friends Hendery and Xiaojun who were both facing the door. When the two of them turned to go, Mark motioned for them to go on ahead. Xiaojun hesitated and tilted his head in question but Hendery pulled him along and Donghyuck sighed in relief.

He had already gathered all his confidence to put that note in Mark's locker asking him to wait for him after school. Admittedly, Renjun had put the note in Mark's locker after Donghyuck had stood in front of the locker door motionless and clutching the piece of paper in his hand for longer than a minute.

When Xiaojun and Hendery exited through the door students from all sides greeted the two as members of the student council. Xiaojun was busy greeting all his fans back and almost tripped over Donghyuck when he turned the corner. He mustered Donghyuck for a second and then gave him a look of understanding. Hendery even gave Donghyuck a thumbs up and grinned at him encouragingly. Was it so obvious he was going to confess to Mark?

Well, why else would Mark send the other student council members ahead and stay back instead of tending to his many duties as student council president? And then there was this random first-year in front of the door with all his friends waiting behind him. Such happenings probably occurred once a week.

Mark and his friends were the most popular students in school. All four of them were immensely popular. As much as Donghyuck hated the comparison, they were pretty much this school’s F4. Only they weren’t bullies and this wasn’t a school for the rich either. And they didn’t have a very arrogant image either. They were just immensely popular, smart enough to be part of the student council and athletic enough to be on the school’s varsity teams. And because this wasn’t a decade old drama, they weren’t solely comprised of alphas but also a beta and even an omega. Not to put omegas down. Renjun was the only omega in Donghyuck’s friend group and the person he feared the most. Donghyuck just wanted to point out that this was not a clichéd TV drama of the last decade.

Mark was still in the classroom and calmly packing his bag. He was - as Yangyang called him – Donghyuck’s man. Donghyuck’s Romeo. Only that they weren’t part of some tragic feud. He was Donghyuck’s Jack. Only they weren’t on a sinking ship and as much as Mark was talented in every aspect, he couldn’t draw to save his life. He was Donghyuck’s Gu Jun-pyo. Only Mark was neither super rich nor his bully. He was so busy being student council president, vice-captain of the basketball team and keeping the spot as top student in his grade, he probably didn’t even know of Donghyuck’s existence.

But, that would change today.

“It's now or never!” Jaemin announced and Donghyuck nodded firmly in agreement.

Yes, Donghyuck was going to do it now! He had been crushing on Mark ever since he had first entered the school. Mark was the perfect alpha. He was smart, athletic and kind. He was a role model and admired by everyone. Half the student population probably had a crush on him. Okay, this was a lie. Admittedly, Yukhei might be more the school’s heartthrob. Mark was even a little lacking in looks because he was a little short for an alpha. Not that Donghyuck could really say anything. He was also an alpha and even shorter than Mark.

But, more than anything else Donghyuck liked the effort Mark put in everything and anything and how hard he tried at whatever he did. Donghyuck admired him and today was the day to tell him!

“Maybe another day would be better...,” Donghyuck blurted out nervously. His friends looked at him with gaping mouths. “I... I don't think he'll say yes today. I don't look so good today. I saw a black cat earlier. He doesn't even know me. What will he say when he sees I'm an alpha? Won't he be weirded out? If Mark won't like me, I at least don't want him to hate me!”

Donghyuck rambled on about his insecurities until Renjun stopped him. “We've talked about this enough! Today you’re gonna confess to Mark and he will accept or reject you for whatever reason! If he’s as great as in your daydreams, he’ll say yes and you’ll live happily ever after. If he doesn’t want to date an alpha and rejects you, we’ll bring your moping ass to get ice cream. And if he’s an ass and rejects you because he’s too closeminded to accept the idea of an alpha-alpha pairing… if he really does reject you then, we’ll just beat him up! Just go and confess already!”

Renjun shouted the last part as he shoved Donghyuck into Mark’s classroom. If nobody had heard Renjun lecture Donghyuck and knew he was going to confess to Mark now, now they knew because Donghyuck had stumbled right into the desk closest to the door and crashed. Upon hearing the crash, Mark jumped up from his seat and looked over where Donghyuck was trying his best to not look like a complete idiot. Mark rushed over and offered his hand to Donghyuck. He let Mark help him up and managed not to just blurt the first thing he thought in Mark’s face. (That Mark was handsome.) Instead he said the second thing that came to mind.

“Um… yes. I- I’m sorry I’m late. I’d like to start now!” Donghyuck looked Mark directly in the eyes for the first time and realized that they were an insanely dark color. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard someone cough behind him. Could his friends be any more obvious?

“Your friend didn’t mean that when he said he’d beat me up, if I rejected you, did he?” Mark laughed awkwardly and Donghyuck had never seen Mark like this. He was always so charismatic and knew what to say. The Mark before him seemed kinda awkward and sheepish.

“No, that was if you were really closeminded and if you are, you'd deserve it. Of course, I think you're not because you treat everyone equally and well and that’s something I admire about you. And also that you’re smart and kind but most of all that you try really hard at everything and that’s why I like you a lot. I’ve had a crush on you for months now and only looked from afar like everybody else. But, today I gathered my courage and left that note in your locker – well, actually, it was Renjun who left it…”

Donghyuck rambled on and on, not sure what he was saying. He was panicking and trying to do something, trying to confess, trying to convey his feelings to Mark but he had stumbled into a desk and then Mark was just in front of him and he didn’t know what he was doing. Donghyuck was not like this normally. Normally, he always had a witty remark at hand and never failed to brighten up the mood but Mark was just standing there and looking at him just as helplessly, totally not the charismatic student council president.

“Maybe another day would have been better after all,” someone groaned from behind the door and Donghyuck snapped out of it.

“You try confessing to him then if you know it all!” Donghyuck snapped at Renjun.

Mark looked even more flustered now that there was not only an audience but also advisors taking part in this ordeal.

“Anyone would do better than you! I could send Yangyang in there and he’d score you a date!” Renjun’s reply came back but the person himself was still concealed by the wall which separated the classroom from the hallway. It looked a little spooky to be honest.

“Are you saying I’m not a good wingman?” Yangyang complained.

“You guys be quiet! I’m trying to confess here!”

Donghyuck turned back to Mark who looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or run away. He looked a little constipated to be honest.

“Um… I’m not sure what to say,” Mark answered for the first time since this whole disaster of a confession had begun.

“You’re not supposed to say anything yet! I’m not finished. I was just nervous. That was Take 1. Cut that out. I’ll go with Take 2!” Donghyuck answered, suddenly fueled by the energy of squabbling with his friends.

Mark nodded obediently and looked a little awkward while he closed his mouth. Was he always like this? Donghyuck remembered how well he had delivered his speech at any assembly and answered any question in a calm and confident manner.

“Mark Lee.” This time Donghyuck calmly looked at Mark and decisively ignored the nagging feeling that he had already failed once and actually asked his crush for another take like he was having a really bad audition for a film role. Donghyuck stood upright to appear bigger and faced Mark confidently. He was an alpha after all. It was in his nature to be confident and strong.

Mark suddenly looked a lot slighter and less intimidating. Donghyuck wondered whether he was making himself appear less alpha-ish on purpose to help Donghyuck feel better. Donghyuck felt a lot calmer all of a sudden. Was this Mark’s doing?

“I like you. I admire you. I like the way you try your best and help others. I admire that about you the most and all that other stuff I said earlier. My name is Lee Donghyuck from class 1-3. I don’t know much about dating and we barely know each other but I like you and I want to get to know you. Sincerely, I ask you to accept my feelings.” Donghyuck conveyed his feelings as best as he could with every word spoken and every look exchanged.

Time stopped and an eternity passed in Donghyuck’s head before anything happened. In slow-motion Mark moved his head first up and then down but he also spoke and Donghyuck’s mind returned to percept things at a normal speed.

“I’d like to get to know you, Lee Donghyuck. I think you make me out to be a much greater person than I am. I hope you won’t be disappointed as you get to know me for real. Let’s start dating. I want to accept your feelings.”

Everything fell silent as Mark waited for Donghyuck’s next words. “Oh my god!” a voice that was not Donghyuck disturbed the silence and fast steps approached Donghyuck before he was taken down by the rowdy bunch. Jaemin’s body slammed into him first and the others’ weights were added on top.

“Congratulations, Donghyuck! He said yes!” One by one they got off of him. Jaemin was wildly gesticulating and babbling, Renjun and Yangyang stared at Mark and Donghyuck in turn in amazement while Jeno laughed next to them. Meanwhile Donghyuck was still on the ground unmoving, not sure what had just transpired. A hand appeared in his vision and Mark helped him up. Right after Donghyuck was back on his feet, Mark was assaulted himself.

His friends seemed to have stayed back or come back to see what was taking him so long. They all launched themselves at him at the same time to congratulate him. Hendery was shouting with a wide smile on his face, Xiaojun was even hugging Mark happily and Yukhei had materialized out of thin air and was clapping Mark on the back.

When everyone had calmed down a little, Yukhei remembered why he was even in a classroom which was not his class’s. “Right, Jungwoo sent me. He can’t finish all the work in the office by himself and none of you were answering your phones. No wonder. Who would have thought it was Markie’s first day in a relationship.”

“Right, Jungwoo needs support. I’m sorry, Lee Donghyuck. I really want to stay longer and everything but Jungwoo’s been by himself for a while if these two never got to the office. So, can you give me your number? We can text or something for today.” Mark held out his phone and Donghyuck typed in his number.

“Great, I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch!” Mark promised while he hurried to the student council office followed by his friends who were asking all kinds of questions.  
“So, let’s get ice cream to celebrate?” Yangyang suggested and for once Donghyuck agreed with him right away.

At a table at the next ice cream shop all of them recounted the earlier events together and came to the crazy but truthful conclusion that Mark Lee had actually agreed to go out with Donghyuck. He had even texted him shortly after they had sat down.

Mark: Ayo man! Wassup! This Mark here! Your boyfriend! Your significant other! Your BOYF!  
Mark: Sorry, that was Yukhei. He grabbed my phone while we were working. I’ll text you later when everything’s finished. Get home safe!  
Mark: Hendery just said there’s no way you went home right away. Have fun with your friends! :-)  
Mark: And tell Jaemin and Jeno I’ll see them at basketball practice tomorrow. I’m sorry I didn’t greet them earlier.

“Tell him we’ll be at practice,” Jeno answered.

“I’m not voting for him next year,” Yangyang stared at the smiling face as if it was the devil incarnate.

“Mark doesn’t need your vote to be student council president again!” Donghyuck rolled his eyes and defended Mark even though he was secretly planning to tell Mark never to send that ugly thing again.

“Hoho! Already being defensive of your boyfriend?” Jaemin teased and Jeno snickered.

Donghyuck ignored the remark in favor of the more pressing issue at hand. Boyfriend. Donghyuck was Mark’s boyfriend now! How had that happened? Even after all his friends had promised him, they had heard the same words as him, he still couldn’t believe it. Donghyuck, then, seriously considered the only possible option he could think of. “Do you think he mistook me for an omega? I’m only an inch taller than Renjun!”

“You can lose a few more inches when I behead you! You can tell him you’re an omega then!” Renjun hissed angrily and stood up to attack. Donghyuck also stood up, ready to run away.

Jaemin willed both of them to calm down, not in the mood for a fight in the ice cream shop. “Kids, fight later, sit down and eat you ice cream. Let’s talk about the unconventional relationship issue first.”

Jeno, the expert at why an alpha would start an unconventional relationship or “the alpha” in their group’s only couple, offered his thoughts. “Aside from Donghyuck’s theory there’s three other possibilities: 1: Mark does not care about one’s gender. 2: he is attracted to alphas despite being one himself. Or it’s Renjun’s theory he said once: Mark’s actually not an alpha but a beta.”

“Or he’s crazy. Or he wants to try dating someone crazy.” Yangyang suggested earnestly as if he actually meant it but the grin on his face betrayed him and Donghyuck flipped him off.

“But, even if he was a beta it would still be rather unlikely for a male beta to be attracted to a male alpha.” Jaemin stated and according to statistics he was probably right. Unconventional pairings might have become more accepted. That didn’t mean that everyone suddenly felt attracted to anyone. That didn’t make any sense. Acceptance didn’t have anything to do with single people’s actual sexuality.

Yangyang still refuted Jaemin’s point, “Funny to hear that coming from you, a male beta who’s going out with a male alpha!” Jaemin, the expert at why a beta would start an unconventional relationship or “the beta” in their group’s only couple, had no response to that.

“I’m talking generally! In general!” he shouted loudly to back up his point because with their friends being loudly automatically guaranteed you to win an argument.

Renjun joined in and stretched his theory even further. “Actually, did anyone else see it? When Donghyuck was starting his second attempt of confessing, Mark was so different suddenly. He was so calm and totally not how he normally appears to be. Like, confident and authoritative and all that. In that moment I felt like he might actually be… an omega.”

All of them stared at Renjun for a second and tried to think back to that specific moment. Then, they all shook their heads and refuted the idea. Mark was a little too built to be an omega. His usual confident and strong appearance didn’t fit either. All the activities he juggled were also more commonly seen done by alphas. Renjun just shrugged at the others’ dismissal. It was just an opinion.

Jaemin steered back to the issue at hand and advised Donghyuck, “Well, there’s only one way to find out: ask him. Otherwise just assume you got lucky and he’s an alpha attracted to other alphas.”

“Him saying yes is what counts. Who cares whether he did because he’s crazy, or unusual or whatever. Just be happy. You got together with your man. I thought we’re celebrating,” Yangyang shrugged and shoved some ice cream in his mouth for emphasis. For the second time today Donghyuck had to agree with Yangyang. Why was he racking his brain trying to find a fault in this perfect situation?

Donghyuck and his friends stopped in the middle of the room and were contemplating which table to take. Normally, they took a table for six and had one chair unoccupied. If Mark were to join them today, they would fit their usual table perfectly. But, only, they didn’t know whether Mark would have his friends join them as well. Donghyuck wasn’t even sure whether Mark was going to be sitting with them at all. Maybe he had just meant that they’ll see each other at lunch, not that they’d actually spend lunch break with each other.

“Just text and ask him!” Yangyang ordered but was already sitting down at a long table.

The others shrugged and sat down as well. Donghyuck was hesitating whether to get out his phone when his savior appeared. “Hey, Lee Donghyuck!” a loud voice called throughout the whole lunch room and everybody turned their heads to look at the person this loud voice belonged to.

Wong Yukhei, captain of the basketball team and probably half of the student population’s (secret) crush, was crossing the room in quick strides and stopped right in front of Donghyuck. Yukhei was a few inches taller than Donghyuck and Donghyuck had to tilt his head up to look up at him. Next to Yukhei stood Xiaojun and was giving Donghyuck a polite smile but made no move to talk himself. Donghyuck didn’t dare let his eyes wander but he was certain all eyes were on him conversing with two of four of the school’s most popular students.

“I heard from Mark we’re sitting with you guys at lunch today. Mark was ambushed back by a teacher to discuss some budget issue on the hallway. He also took Hendery because he’s the treasurer. They’ll be joining us later.”

Donghyuck nodded and offered them a seat. Yukhei and Xiaojun set down four lunch trays and sat down. Donghyuck had observed that Yukhei got Mark lunch on the days he came late. Donghyuck was a little jealous of that but there was no way to dislike Yukhei. At first, Yukhei was a little intimidating due to his huge build and loud voice but he was a really open and sociable person. He was someone you couldn’t help but get along with no matter what. Unless you hated puppies so, in other words, unless you were a monster.

Xiaojun had always made an impression as a really calm and kind of cold person to Donghyuck. As the secretary of the student council he never spoke much and only sat at a table and noted all events happening down. Now in an actual conversation and not the school assembly he was actually talking a lot, laughing a lot and making weird creations out of his lunch (well, he ate the creations so Donghyuck wasn’t gonna complain). There was nothing left of the expressionless honorary student Donghyuck had seen up till now.

Then again, when Donghyuck had first met Yangyang, he had also thought he was really cool and a genius who spoke four languages. Now, he knew he was just a dumb airhead who struggled to put together a single coherent sentence in his head.

Soon after, Mark and Hendery joined and Mark sat down in the free seat his friends had left him next to Donghyuck. Mark asked Donghyuck how his classes were and laughed awkwardly when his friends complained that Donghyuck was Mark’s boyfriend and not just some random underclassman and that he should be asking him more interesting questions. Mark just laughed like he did at any joke anyone told and got along well with Donghyuck’s friends. He was obviously used to being teased a lot but didn’t mind and took it as fun.

All of them in Donghyuck’s and Mark’s friend group immediately got along well. Jaemin and Jeno had joined the basketball team and for the first time had a chance to interact with the captain and vice-captain of the team without dozens of other players and teachers and the coach around. Renjun and Yangyang found great pleasure in talking in their mother language to Mark’s friends who were all of Chinese descent. Donghyuck wondered how Mark hadn’t picked up any Mandarin yet when he seemed to surround himself with Chinese students.

Mark’s schedule was packed with student council work and basketball practice not to mention studying. He still promised to meet Donghyuck after school on his free days. He also promised to eat lunch with Donghyuck from now on if he didn’t spend lunch break at the student council office or being ambushed by one of the teachers. Yukhei told Donghyuck that it was Donghyuck’s duty to get Mark lunch from now on since he was Mark’s alpha now. Donghyuck wondered embarrassed whether Yukhei had seen how he had jealously observed Mark eating from the tray Yukhei had set down. Mark and Donghyuck both blushed at the term “Mark’s alpha” and their friends mutually enjoyed making fun of the new couple.

As they spent more time together, Donghyuck got to know the real Mark. He got to know that Mark was super clumsy, his handwriting was unreadable and he was dumb and awkward. And he had only managed to become student council president because there was no third-year willing to take on the role this year and the previous president had recommended Mark. But, Donghyuck liked the dumb comments Mark made, his slow thinking when advanced math wasn’t the conversation topic and his awkward laughter when he didn’t know what to say. He felt like he was actually falling for Mark and he hoped Mark was too.

Once Mark took Donghyuck on a date after school to a café he visited frequently. A tall, good-looking waiter stood at the counter to greet them. When he took their order, he revealed a pair of cute dimples as he smiled and ruffled Mark's hair affectionately. “Jaehyun!” Mark complained and tried to bring his hair out of Jaehyun’s reach. He introduced Jaehyun as an upperclassman who had graduated last year, a close friend of his and also the person who had put him in the position of student council president. Jaehyun joked a lot, smiled a lot and was very welcoming to Donghyuck. “Come by whenever you’re free! I’ve barely seen Mark since I graduated. I’ll tell you Mark’s embarrassing stories of when he was younger!” Jaehyun promised and gave Donghyuck his number. Mark rolled his eyes and pulled Donghyuck to sit down at a table.

When they left, an ethereally beautiful waiter stood at the cash register and looked at them expectantly. Donghyuck wondered whether a hiring condition of this café was to be good-looking enough to be a celebrity. He didn’t speak or reach out to Mark a lot but looked at him with the same affection Jaehyun did. Mark introduced him as another previous student of their school and also his close friend. “Sicheng” Donghyuck read from his name tag. Why did Mark have so many Chinese friends? It was rather abnormal. Sicheng skipped any introductions. Instead, he asked Mark in a deep voice whether this cute boy was his boyfriend. Mark blushed at that. Donghyuck blushed as well. They both confirmed abashed.

“Cute.” Sicheng seemed to be a man of few words but always hit the nail on the head.

The café was decorated in soft and bright pastel colors like rose, baby blue, a matt yellow and violet. On the walls hung cute and simplistic drawings and delicate table cloths and tiny flower vases decorated the tables. It was obviously aimed at omegas and female betas. It looked a little too cute for an alpha to go there by themselves. Donghyuck probably wouldn’t have come by himself. Still, Mark insisted that he loved the café and its pastel colors. Donghyuck was more a fan of strong colors like a strikingly bright red, a deep forest green or a simple black but he preferred a bright interior more when it came to a café. Besides, these seemed to be a place couples would frequent.

“Yangyang always says I shouldn't stick so much to stereotypes but he likes neon colors so I don't think he has any room to criticize anyone's favorite colors!”

Mark laughed and assured Donghyuck there was nothing wrong with any preference. “Who cares about stereotypes? Sure, I like soft and pastel colors the most but that has nothing to do with my gender. I just like what I like.”

Donghyuck agreed but actually found it kind of cute Mark had such tastes and didn't follow the typical alpha stereotypes. In the past Donghyuck had often felt like he needed to make up for his “alpha-ness” in his behavior as his looks were rather untypical an alpha. Rather slight, too short and his voice was also rather high. But, nowadays Donghyuck had come to terms with himself and didn’t feel self-conscious anymore.

Mark himself, Donghyuck realized, was quite an untypical alpha, too. There was the slight physique Donghyuck had as well although Mark was more built than him. His personality traits were also unlike a usual alpha. He was not easily aggravated and as soon as he left the school premises the confident and domineering way he held himself in the school hallways vanished.

Instead, he was very calm and quiet. And by quiet, Donghyuck didn't mean his volume. Quite the opposite, Mark laughed and talked a lot and giggled a lot and laughed a little more a little louder. (Or a lot louder.) And Donghyuck loved the way Mark seemed to genuinely want to laugh at every joke Donghyuck made and the way Mark smiled back when Donghyuck looked at him a little unsure at the beginning of their relationship.

Outside of school there was a softer and more vulnerable feeling to him that made Donghyuck want to protect and take care of Mark as his partner.

It sounded ridiculous. Donghyuck taking care of Mark who was probably the most capable person in the whole school. But, Donghyuck took pride in the little things Mark let Donghyuck do for him. Like walking next to the street on the sidewalk, getting their drinks for them or letting Donghyuck pay. Although Mark had said he would pay next time and Sicheng had given them a friend discount.

These were usually things the alpha did for their omega. Not many alphas would let another alpha do such things for them. They easily felt their pride or ego attacked by such gestures. Although those were stereotypes, it was definitely in an alpha’s nature to want to appear strong and reliable to their partner. Donghyuck decided he would let Mark as well if he ever wanted do such things for Donghyuck.

In a moment of seriousness, Mark had looked Donghyuck in the eyes, held Donghyuck's hand awkwardly, let go right after, asked if it was fine if he held his hand and taken it again upon Donghyuck's approval.

“I think the most important thing in a relationship is honesty,” Mark had said and Donghyuck kind of felt like he had done something wrong and the student council president was giving him an earnest one-on-one lecture. "So, from now on I will always be honest with you. And I hope you will do the same for me. Of course, there are other expectations I think are natural. I think we can figure out the bounds of our relationship as we get to know each other."

Donghyuck nodded but kind of feared that Mark would whip out a contract or some written agreement next and ask Donghyuck to sign it.

Honesty. Donghyuck's mind wandered back to his conversation with his friends. Do you think he mistook me for an omega? Mark knew he was an alpha, right? He didn't need to clarify, that right? Donghyuck was still contemplating his worry when his mouth hurried ahead without his brain’s consent.

“I'm an alpha!” he stated so clearly some other people in the café turned their heads and looked at them.

“What?” Mark asked confused.

Panic seeped into Donghyuck’s every expression and his voice. “Oh no, I knew it! You thought I was an omega and now you want to break up with me!” Donghyuck couldn't believe his first relationship would end after their first date! Their first date wasn’t even over yet!

Mark immediately waved his hands around wildly and began to explain himself. “No, Hyuck, no. I was just confused why you said that. That's why I blurted out ‘what’. I already knew you were an alpha. And even if you were an omega, I still wouldn't break up with you for such a reason. I’ve never tried before but I wouldn't mind being in a same sex relationship. Of course all that doesn’t matter now since I’m with you now!” Mark clarified and squeezed Donghyuck's hand reassuringly.

Donghyuck knew all that (now). They currently were in a same sex relationship after all.

Although that point had been cleared now, there was still some nagging feeling at the back of Donghyuck's mind telling Donghyuck there was still some misunderstanding brooding between them.

(As days went by the nagging feeling turned into a voice and after some more time the voice turned out to be Renjun's. Donghyuck still didn’t know what Renjun of his unconsciousness was trying to tell him. If he really wanted to know, he could probably ask the real Renjun.)

Donghyuck dismissed the nagging feeling and instead asked Mark whether he could hold his hand again. Mark agreed, held out his hand, looked just as awkward as before and continued to look just as awkward for a week whenever they held hands. He also stiffened up uncomfortably when Donghyuck hugged him or was trying to cuddle. But, still Donghyuck never felt bad about his reaction.

Mark made a conscious effort to reciprocate Donghyuck's advances. He squeezed Donghyuck's hand back and held on tightly. He wrapped his arms around Donghyuck in turn when Donghyuck came to hug him. He put his head on Donghyuck's shoulder and leaned into his side when Donghyuck put his arm around Mark's waist.

Once, Mark had been called out for his awkward attempts at skinship by his friends. To prove himself, he had approached Donghyuck with determined strides, sat down in his lap boldly and slung his arms around Donghyuck's neck. Satisfied, his expression clearly said “We can be lovey-dovey like this! I can be like this!” as all of his friends stared at them in disbelief.

Right when their friends had recovered from the shock and whipped out their phones to capture the moment, Mark got up quickly and stammered an excuse about his mom needing his help at home. Donghyuck grasped his hands and held him back. He couldn't help but tease this red face of his.

“Don't worry. Next time I will sit down in your lap.” Donghyuck winked cheekily. He had never thought he'd say or even think about this. Normally, an alpha wouldn't sit down in their partner's lap so he hadn’t even considered it. But, normally, an alpha wouldn't date another alpha either. So, who cared about what was normally the case? Obviously, Mark didn’t. So, Donghyuck wouldn’t either.

“Why would you do that?” Mark tilted his head in confusion.

“Well, if you'll do it, why wouldn't I?”

“Ah, no, you can do what you want, of course. I was just thinking it would be more natural for me to sit in your lap but if you want, I don't mind. I mean…,” Mark rambled like he often did when he was nervous.

Maybe Mark didn't want Donghyuck sitting in his lap? Did he not like that?

“I won't if you don't like it!” Donghyuck promised. Mark looked like he was about to refute when Donghyuck added, “But, in return I hope you'll surprise me like this more in the future!” He tapped at his leg like he was asking Mark to sit down in his lap again. Mark sat down next to Donghyuck with flushed cheeks and took his hand so Donghyuck would stop tapping his leg.

Mark was so easily flustered and rendered speechless. He was totally different from the charismatic student council president Donghyuck had had a crush on. Instead, Donghyuck kept falling for this dorky and awkward boyfriend of his.

Possibly, there was one time where Donghyuck should have really realized it.

“Mark, do you think your scent blocker isn’t placed properly? I've been wondering the whole day whose smell this is following us around. I think it's yours.”

Almost all students wore scent blockers to not leave any heavy trails around. Only students with really weak scents or not fully developed ones didn't have to. Of course, there would always be a bit of it seeping through despite scent blockers. It wasn’t like people would go crazy at another person’s scent anyway. It was just a rule, a safety precaution, something that had implemented itself as a norm over time and was now appropriate to do at specific locations like in school where young people all spent time together. In your free time you were not obligated to follow those rules but it was recommended. Like it was appropriate to wear a school uniform to school but you were free to do as you wished during your free time.

Mark's scent was either really weak or Mark had figured out the ultimate way to patch on the scent blocker. Either way, Donghyuck had never smelled Mark's smell till today and they have met everyday since they started dating two weeks ago.

“It's probably cause it’ll be my heat soon. My scent might be a little stronger at the moment. Which reminds me: I won't be in school next week because of it.” Mark explained and sniffed the air although it was almost impossible to smell your own scent. You were just too used to it with it always wafting around you.

Donghyuck frowned at Mark's unusual choice of words. He was an alpha after all. Why he would he call his rut “a heat”? Technically, a rut could be seen as “an alpha’s heat” but barely anyone used that term. Donghyuck's grandma or even older people might. Maybe Mark just took to the term or he had spent a lot of time with his grandparents or even great-grandparents? It was a little unusual and maybe Donghyuck would have pondered the term a little more if he hadn’t been distracted by something else.

Donghyuck automatically moved closer to Mark and hovered above the scent glands at Mark's neck where he had patched on the scent blocker. It was a very alluring and inviting scent. Donghyuck couldn't resist it. He was surprised by how drawn he was to it. Although Donghyuck had fallen in love with Mark at first sight and had kept falling for him despite the obvious knowledge that Mark was an alpha, he had always feared that he might be turned off by Mark's scent as it wasn’t an omega’s. Biologically, Donghyuck was supposed to be attracted to an omega’s scent and either aggravated or intimidated by an alpha’s. But, it was so alluring, Donghyuck was this close to just reaching out and pick at the scent blocker a bit just to have a bit more of that alluring scent.

“Hyuck,” Mark breathed out shakily but didn't pull away.

Donghyuck slowly pulled away from Mark’s neck and looked up at his face. Mark looked back and moved this time. There was a kind of intensity to his stare as he reached his hands out to cup Donghyuck's face.

“Hyuck, I like you so much. I'm falling for you with you with every passing moment. I’ve always hoped for my alpha to do it romantically and overwhelm me but I also think I should take the initiative before this moment passes.”

Donghyuck's eyes were on Mark's lips while he spoke and Donghyuck barely registered nor processed Mark's words fully when Mark's lips were on his. At first both of them seemed to stay still, trying to prolong the moment of the start of their first kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, Mark started to move his lips slowly, kissing Donghyuck in the softest way possible. Donghyuck didn't know what he was doing and just mirrored Mark, trying his best to kiss back. Donghyuck’s first kiss in the student council office was just perfect as he felt Mark’s hand still glued to the sides of his face.

When Donghyuck's tongue brushed against the edge of Mark's lip by coincidence for the second time, Mark opened his mouth without a prompt. Donghyuck wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do. Hesitantly, he slid his tongue forward behind Mark's lips. Their tongues met and both of them stilled and then pulled back when they had just been sitting still and doing nothing for what was probably two minutes. They looked at each other and laughed awkwardly. Soon small chuckles turned into full-blown laughter where they both threw their heads back, shook with their whole bodies, met each other's eyes and laughed even more.

“I'll miss you next week,” Donghyuck whined at Mark as they left the school hand in hand.

In the end Donghyuck forgot about any suspicions he should have had regarding Mark's words or Mark's alluring scent, the memory of his first amazing kiss overshadowing everything else.

A month had just past when the secret finally got out.

“So, when will you introduce this boyfriend of yours to us?” His brother Johnny asked while Donghyuck was cutting onions for his mom.

Donghyuck stopped the knife in mid-air and halted shortly. He tried to appear calm and unaffected.

“What do you mean?”

“Don't even try to lie, Donghyuckie!” His mother supported Johnny's claim. “I met Yangyang at the supermarket last time and he told me all about this amazing boyfriend of yours! Student council president, top of the year and he said he was good-looking as well! He said you would drool every time you saw him!”

That little snitch. Of course Yangyang had ratted him out!

“Well, yes, he's really nice. And everything Yangyang said. I only drooled once. But, we've only dated for a month. I'll introduce him to you guys when we've been together a little longer.”

His mother opened her mouth to protest as if Donghyuck had said he'd introduce Mark when they'd get married. If she had a say, they might actually get married as soon as he brought Mark home. "A month is a stable enough relationship! Do you think your relationship will end or take a turn for the worse because he meets your family? Just bring him home for dinner next week!”

“We won't condemn him for dating you or anything. You're the one who'll have to win his family's favor as the alpha!" Johnny joked and Donghyuck tried his best to laugh in a believable way.

“So, we've been dating for a month now...” The next day at school Donghyuck attempted to breach the topic of introducing Mark to his family.

“Right, I still have the flower bouquet you gave me for our one month anniversary! My mom was pushing me the whole time to tell her who the bouquet was from!” Mark laughed at the thought of bickering with his mom. Those flowers had been quite extravagant for a one month anniversary but Donghyuck had wanted to get Mark something nice.

“And what did you tell her?” Donghyuck's eyes widened at the story.

“I told her they're from my amazing boyfriend!” Mark beamed proudly. When he caught sight of the corners of Donghyuck’s mouth going south, his own smile turned into a frown.”Should I not have told her? I know it's only been a month. I just told her, nothing else. Just think of it as if I told Yukhei or Xiaojun or Hendery. I'm not asking you to meet her right away!” Mark laughed jokingly.

Just as much as Mark was a master in creating awkward situations, was Mark a master in ignoring awkward situations. In other words Mark had neither real social skills nor social awareness. Once more Donghyuck wondered how he had managed to become student council president and why he was so popular.

But, actually this might be the best moment to bring it up. “You know, actually, my mom found out about you as well and she wants to meet you. Like dinner next week or something? You don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to. I can just make up some excuse. No problem at all.” Donghyuck tried to sound casual although meeting the parents definitely wasn’t a casual topic.

“What?” Mark blurted out like he did every time he was surprised.

Donghyuck gave Mark some time to process the words. Donghyuck could read the understanding, contemplation and at last a decision on Mark’s face.

“Um... sure. I don't mind. On the weekend would be fine,” Mark agreed in the end.

“Then, this weekend? Or is that too soon?”

Mark agreed to this weekend, Donghyuck's parents were delighted and Johnny proceeded to interrogate Donghyuck about his boyfriend. With a week’s worth of luck Donghyuck always evaded the questions saying “You'll get to meet him in a few days...” and soon it was the day before Mark was to meet Donghyuck's family.

Donghyuck hadn't found a good opportunity to ask his parents what they thought about homosexual couples or whether they'd mind him going out with another alpha. Donghyuck had never expected it himself but fate seemed to work in funny ways.

Due to his inability to face his parents, Donghyuck decided to get a second opinion on his parent's hypothetical reaction as he wasn't able to make a good estimate himself.

“Oh my god, you scared the hell out of me!” Johnny cursed when he entered his room to find Donghyuck going through the lecture notes he had left on his bed.

“Johnny, I need your opinion.”

“On Media Visualization?” Johnny asked and pointed at the papers Donghyuck was going through without reading any of them.

“What do you think about unconventional relationships?”

Johnny shrugged as he took his notes from Donghyuck and organized them. “Nothing much. I'm not in one myself but I guess I won’t mind if I happened to start one as long as I like the person. I'm definitely not prejudice towards them. You don't see me treating Jeno and Jaemin any differently than any of your other friends, do you?”

“What do you think mom and dad would say?”

“They treat Jeno and Jaemin the same they always did, don’t they?”

Donghyuck remembered the way his mom always swooned over Jaemin, how fun and charming he was, what a great taste in men he had and anything else Jaemin did.

Sure, she liked Jaemin and Jeno just like she did all his friends but... “People tend to be less open-minded when it's regarding their own children and themselves.”

Johnny gave Donghyuck a questioning look but soon got the indication of Donghyuck's statement.

“Mark is a beta?”

“Mark is an alpha.”

Johnny was silent for a while and seriously thinking about his answer. “They will be taken aback. They will be surprised, maybe even unbelieving at first. But, they won't disregard you or him for it. They'll see that you like each other and that you're a good pair,” Johnny predicted in an assuring manner.

Donghyuck was both fearful and hopeful. “You think so?”

“There's nothing to worry about, Donghyuck-ah. And I promise you, even if nobody's on your side, I will always be on your side. We're brothers after all!” Johnny smiled encouragingly and opened his arms for a hug. Donghyuck laughed a little but felt really thankful for his brother's words. He stood up, opened his arms as well and let his older brother engulf him in a bear hug.

“Mark is a great person. He's strong and reliable and smart and sensible and open-minded and considerate. But, he's an alpha too and I still like him so much!” Donghyuck wanted to convey that there was no one else but Mark for him.

Johnny nodded in understanding. “Then mom and dad are sure to see that too when they met him.”

The moment of truth was now here and Donghyuck had still not hinted anything at his parents. He opened the door and there stood Mark in dark jeans and a dark blue dress shirt. His outfit was weirdly reminiscent of their school uniform. Donghyuck was awfully sure Mark would have worn their school uniform if left to his own devices. Donghyuck felt like he owed one of Mark’s friends now.

But, there was one distinct difference to the Mark Donghyuck had met at school everyday, to the Mark Donghyuck had also met on the weekends. The Mark today lacked or rather had something he didn't before.

“Your scent... Scent blockers...” Donghyuck stuttered out. His eyes darted to Mark’s neck immediately. Mark had taken off his scent blockers. As a courtesy to Donghyuck's parents, as a sign that he planned to stay with Donghyuck for a long time and that he wished for Donghyuck's family to get accustomed with his scent near them, the ever cautious Mark had taken off his scent blockers. It was a common practice to meet you boyfriend’s parents and not unusual.

That wasn't the unusual point. What surprised Donghyuck most was that Mark's scent was…

“Om’a!” The thought left Donghyuck's mouth without him planning to and the word came out mumbled and unclear.

“Hm?” Mark hadn't understood Donghyuck.

Just then Johnny who had waited behind Donghyuck patiently till now interrupted as he had caught sight of Mark and felt that something was wrong with what he had been told. He stepped forward and immediately caught the distinct smell Mark was emitting. “Donghyuck, your boyfriend isn't an alpha. Whatever did you mean?”

“Alpha?” Mark asked as well.

“Hyuck told me you were an alpha yesterday,” Johnny outright asked Mark for confirmation.

“I’m not…” Mark looked confused first, then contemplating, – Donghyuck could see the gears turning in his head – soon enlightened and at last amused. And lastly he returned to his usual awkward expression with his hand behind his nape. “I've been mistaken for a beta pretty often but no one's ever thought me to be an alpha. I feel like I should be flattered.” He tried to support his joke with an awkward laugh.

Johnny burst out laughing loudly and soon their parents came to check on the commotion and why it was taking so long to invite a guest inside.

“What are you boys doing just standing here? Are you inviting the bugs to eat with us as well?” Mrs Lee asked and shooed them inside.

“Ah, hello, Mr and Mrs Lee,” Mark greeted Donghyuck's parents and bowed politely. “I'm Mark Lee. Donghyuck and I have been going out for a little over a month now.”

Donghyuck's parents were delighted at Mark's polite demeanor and friendly appearance and ushered him to take a seat while they served the food.

There was no time to talk about the misunderstanding as Donghyuck's parents pulled him inside, asked whether he's eaten (which he obviously hasn't since he was invited to dinner) and whether he liked Kimchi Stew because it was Donghyuck's favorite.

Mark nodded and smiled politely and looked every part their son's cute first boyfriend.

“So, you and Donghyuck go to the same school?” Mr Lee started the conversation at the dinner table.

“Donghyuck wouldn't tell us anything about you!” Mrs Lee added.

“Um...yes, I'm a second-year at Donghyuck's school.”

“Oh, how did you and Donghyuck meet?”

Donghyuck looked up at this question. What was Mark supposed to answer? He couldn’t possibly tell Donghyuck’s parents Donghyuck had left a letter and confessed to him one day!

“Well, we just saw each other at school sometimes and I'm on the basketball team with Jeno and Jaemin,” Mark evaded the question. He was telling the truth but not really saying the answer to the question.

“Ah, mutual friends.” Mrs Lee concluded and Donghyuck and Mark didn't deny.

“Basketball team! You like sports?” Mr Lee asked.

Mark nodded. “It's fun as a hobby. I'm going to quit though next year. I need more time to focus on entrance exams.”

“Very reasonable. Getting into a good University is a high school student's top priority after all!” Mrs Lee commented and glanced at Donghyuck in a very conspicuous way.

“I am studying to the best of my ability. And don't worry. I have Mark now after all! He's an honor student!” Donghyuck grinned.

“Wow, an honor student!” Mr Lee marveled although Yangyang had already revealed that information.

Mrs Lee, however, didn't ignore the excuse Donghyuck had made, “You should be studying yourself and not relying on someone else’s help!”

“Do you know how difficult entrance exams can be? Everyone needs some help when it comes to them! Is an academy not someone else’s help?” Donghyuck complained and pouted at his mother.

Mark looked at Donghyuck and couldn’t help but smile when he saw his cute pout. “Entrance exams are hard, Mrs Lee. And I don’t mind helping Donghyuck. He’s not a bad or unwilling student after all so I’m sure he’ll do just fine!”

“You’re such a sweet boy, Mark! I’m so happy Donghyuck’s found such a great partner to rely on!” Mrs Lee swooned and Donghyuck and Mark were both happy but felt just as embarrassed and tried their best to hide their smiles in their bowl. Till now, everything seemed to be going well. Donghyuck hadn’t feared his parents wouldn’t like Mark’s personality anyway. In some way, Donghyuck was even lucky his only worry had vanished into thin air.

That was until just that became the conversation topic.

“Mark, you seem and look rather unlike an omega. Oh, I don't mean any offense. Who cares about those stereotypes anyway? It's just an observation. You're quite tall and built for an omega. Maybe your parents are both on the taller side?”

“Oh, don't worry. I've heard that often. I'm often mistaken to be a beta until the pattern of my absences from school make it obvious.” Mark tried to joke to show he wasn’t offended.

“Your scent is unmistakably an omega's. I think your nature and demeanor are unmistakably an omega’s as well. Although there might be doubts at first, your overall impression clearly mark you as an omega. Or maybe that’s just something I can sense like intuition. Must come with age and wisdom,” Mrs Lee added and laughed at her own joke.

“Ah yes. At school I have to wear scent blockers. And due to my appearance many have told me it was difficult to determine my gender by impression alone. When I entered high school, many assumed me to be a beta. From my experience alphas and omegas detect my gender more easily by an innate feeling. Omegas often more easily than alphas.” Mark explained while Donghyuck tried his best to submerge into his chair. As Mark gave Donghyuck a short glance, Donghyuck knew he wasn't gonna like what would follow. Usually, it was Mark who was getting flustered by Donghyuck’s actions so when the rare opportunity arose Mark wanted to tease Donghyuck at least a little.

“I once even met someone who had thought of me as an alpha for a whole month. We spent a lot of time together and I didn’t know they were thinking of me as an alpha. When I think back now, I think I even told him once that I was going to be absent because of my heat!”

Mr and Mrs Lee both laughed boisterously. “Who would ever be so oblivious for such a long time?” Mr Lee tried not to laugh too much but seemed very amused by the story. “That sounds unbelievable, Mark! A beta when they don’t know you I will believe but for someone to have thought of you as an alpha for a whole month is a miracle! You must have been quite amused!” Mrs Lee couldn’t stop laughing either.

“It’s still funny when I think about it now,” Mark tried not to laugh too much himself so Donghyuck wouldn’t be too mad when the embarrassment would subside.

Johnny also held back his laughter and only chuckled as he felt second-hand embarrassment for his younger brother.

“So, I heard you’ve finally been let in on the big secret?” Yangyang was doing pretty well sporting an innocent look on his face but Renjun’s face was stiff in an attempt not to laugh. Donghyuck looked up at Yangyang and tried to see whether he was talking about the only revelation he’s had since they saw each other on Friday.

“You! You knew!” Donghyuck accused Yangyang and felt utter betrayal when not only Yangyang but also Renjun burst out in laughter loudly. Jeno and Jaemin looked utterly confused and had obviously not been part of the “Let’s let Donghyuck make a fool of himself” operation.

“Shut up!”

Donghyuck tried his best to first shut them up and then ignore them when that didn’t work. He felt embarrassed enough as is. They didn’t have to rub it in his face. Actually, they were his friends so they probably did.

“What? What secret? What is it?” Jaemin asked not happy to be kept out of the loop like this. “Yangyang? Junie? What secret do we not know? Jeno, do you know?”

Jeno shook his head which was the obvious answer. Even if he did know, the correct answer at this moment was to not wrong Jaemin. When it was obvious Donghyuck wasn’t going to say anything, Jaemin silenced Yangyang to question him.

“Shut the hell up and tell me the secret! Liu Yangyang!”

Yangyang nodded and withheld his laughter for the chance to share Donghyuck’s embarrassment. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down but an amused grin was planted firmly on his face and little laughs kept escaping the corner of his mouth.

“Hyuckie… Hyuckie, he has been thinking Mark was an alpha this whole time. On Friday when Mark met his parents, he found out he was an omega. He’s been thinking his boyfriend as an alpha for a whole month of dating!” Yangyang wheezed out and at the words Yangyang and Renjun burst out into an endless laughing fit again.

“Mark’s an omega?” Jaemin shouted and Donghyuck shushed him quickly.

“Do you want the whole school to find out I’m an idiot?” Donghyuck hissed with his hand planted firmly on Jaemin’s mouth. He scanned the room quickly to see whether anyone was paying attention to them but the noise of the lunch hall seemed to have drowned out Jaemin’s exclamation.

Jaemin muffled a reply into Donghyuck’s hand which sounded suspiciously similar to “But, you are an idiot!” and Donghyuck flipped him off while he leaned back into his own seat.

Renjun shrugged and didn’t look guilty at all. “To my defense, I told you once and I think that was enough of a hint from me. When it was confirmed, Yangyang told me not to tell you and see how long it would take for you to realize. He said it would be fun to watch you be clueless and oblivious. I have to admit it was pretty fun.”

“It’s all your fault! It’s always your doing!” Donghyuck accused the devil incarnate and snatched the pudding from his lunch tray in retaliation.

“It’s not my fault you’re stupid,” Yangyang answered and took back his pudding.

“How did you find out anyway?” Donghyuck asked Renjun. He could be mad at them all he wanted but in the end he didn’t forget that it was pretty much his own fault.

Renjun recalled the moment at the ice cream shop. “Well, at first it was just a suspicion. Then, the more time we spent with him, the more the suspicion grew. He just didn’t seem like an alpha. I might have accepted a beta but I was too suspicious so I asked Hendery and he confirmed it. Yangyang was there by coincidence. They convinced me to keep quiet and that’s it. So, let’s just say it was intuition? An innate sense to recognize another omega? I don’t know. Maybe it was just a lucky guess.” He shrugged and picked up his spoon again.

Donghyuck decided not to treat Hendery nicely anymore. He had thought they got along well!

“You guys didn’t know?” Donghyuck asked Jaemin and Jeno. “We didn’t know but a lot of things make a lot more sense now and I feel like we could have realized by ourselves,” Jeno answered and Jaemin agreed.

“But, isn’t this a good turn of events? You’ve been worried about how a relationship between two alphas was supposed to work from the beginning of your relationship. The problem’s solved itself!” Jaemin asked Donghyuck.

“Yeah, us both being alphas was my main concern but as time progressed it didn’t seem to matter anymore. I think this won’t really change anything anyway. Alpha or omega, I’m still dating the same Mark I’ve been dating the last month.”

“Sounds like a good ending to me,” Renjun shrugged. His shoulders started shaking when he thought about Donghyuck’s misunderstanding again. This time Jeno and Jaemin joined in as well.

“Hey, you guys didn’t know either!” Donghyuck reminded the couple.

“But, you’re his boyfriend. You spent every free minute with him. You two were attached by the hip every waking second,” Jaemin remarked and Donghyuck felt his newfound confidence diminish quickly. Renjun chuckled at that comment and Yangyang giggled obnoxiously. They would have probably let Jaemin in on the whole thing if it wasn’t for Jeno. Those two were practically one person nowadays. Anywhere Jaemin went, Jeno went and anything Jaemin knew, Jeno knew as well. And Jeno couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.

“No one besides you guys knows anyway so at least I will be spared the embarrassment of the whole student population judging me,” Donhgyuck tried to find a positive aspect in this whole ordeal.

Just then a loud voice reached their table from the entrance. “Yo Donghyuck, I heard you’ve been mistaking Mark this whole time!” Yukhei was waving at them happily and if nobody had been paying attention to them before, now everyone’s gaze was wandering between them and Yukhei.

Just in time Mark slapped a hand over Yukhei’s mouth like Donghyuck had to Jaemin earlier and pulled him away to buy their lunch. Xiaojun and Hendery waved at them a little less conspicuously and followed behind Mark and Yukhei.

“Sorry, I actually warned him not to say anything in front of the lunch hall. He was just maybe a little too excited and didn’t listen,” Mark apologized and tried to comfort Donghyuck when he tried to submerge into his chair out of embarrassment. That had been his newest hobby lately.

“Why didn’t you let me in on the plan?” Yukhei complained to the three conspirators as the four of them sat down in their usual spots.

“No offense, Xuxi, but you can’t keep a secret to save your life,” Hendery bluntly stated. Yukhei pouted and tried to convince him he was actually capable of keeping silent. When that didn’t work, he started whining to Xiaojun about how mean they were instead.

Xiaojun indulged him a little and patted his head but revealed that he had been told by Hendery and had kept quiet. “I wasn’t too set on the secret but it was quite amusing to know the situation.”

Yukhei let go of Xiaojun, a look of utter betrayal displayed on his face. He stuck to Jaemin and Jeno instead who he felt were his only real allies. Jaemin, always the loving mother hen, accepted Yukhei happily.

“A- anyway, let’s keep this between us, alright? You can tell the story in ten years at our wedding or something. Till then, keep quiet!” Donghyuck still feared the whole school finding out about his mistake and tried to get the others’ silence.

“Our wedding?” Mark asked and his head turned to his boyfriend so fast you could hear an unhealthy noise from his neck. He yelped out and Donghyuck hovered over him worried and told him to be careful while he examined his neck carefully. He was actually quite glad Mark was so clumsy most of the time. At least he could forgo his question for now.

“In ten years?” Jaemin picked up on something else. “Please tell me you two don’t plan on dating for ten years before you get married! You’ve skipped every existing stage and jumped right to ‘meeting the parents’! I’ll give you guys three years. How does a summer wedding sound?”

The others nodded in agreement and started arguing about who would be Mark and Donghyuck’s best man respectively.

“You really want to hear this story at our wedding?” Mark asked Donghyuck.

“Maybe I should have just told them to keep quiet about it.”

“When we’re actually getting married, this will just be a dumb story from when we first met,” Mark promised and Donghyuck smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I’ve never in my life watched or read any version of Hana Yori Dango so forgive me for displaying anything in a wrong way. I don’t hate the story either, I’ve never watched the drama so I wouldn’t be able to give an opinion on it. It was just used as a display of clichés
> 
> I’ve been thinking about asking someone else to beta my stories for me but I have no idea who to ask. I only have one friend who knows I write and publish here but I’m secretly hoping she doesn’t read my stories even though I told her about this account so she would read my works… hahaha, as always I can’t decide what I want
> 
> By the way, I was thinking about whether to put (minimal) LuRen in here – I didn’t in the end – and was looking up “LuRen moments” as reference but couldn’t find any good compilations so if you know any, send them to me (: I’m suddenly interested, just to know whether they exist (the moments). I feel like they’re very rare or almost don’t exist and have been wondering why this ship is so popular despite that. Anyway, LuRen if you know anything. Much appreciated.


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